# AX Check: gitbook.com Checked 2026-09-25. GitBook's docs, pricing, and setup are all agent-ready out of the box. All 23 checklist items passed: quickstart, CLI, API, MCP, and pricing are readable without login, with plans and per-unit costs stated openly. ## Onboarding needs a login ## Coding sessions All three independent sessions (DeepSeek V4 Pro, Kimi K3, Qwen 3.8 Max) completed the task, each pulling the same pricing table straight from gitbook.com/pricing — Free $0, Premium $65/site/mo, Ultimate from $249/site/mo, plus $12/user/mo — and each noted the annual-billing assumption behind those figures. ### DeepSeek V4 Pro [View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/84c9759a-32c9-485d-9af6-5809d28340f9) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/gitbook.com/sessions/deepseek.json) Pricing table (Free $0, Premium $65/site/mo+$12/user/mo, Ultimate $249/site/mo+$12/user/mo, Enterprise custom) is paired with explicit assumptions — plan tier, per-site/per-user basis, and the note that the Ask API used in the example requires Ultimate tier (seq 199-201, final output). #### End-to-end onboarding - **Onboarding needs a login**: The agent never obtained a real GitBook credential on its own. It only found a platform gateway key unrelated to GitBook (PI_GATEWAY_API_KEY) and confirmed no GITBOOK_API_TOKEN existed in the environment. It built a working example script and ran it, but every authenticated call requires a personal access token created via manual sign-in/browser flow at app.gitbook.com, which the agent explicitly could not do. It tested with a deliberately invalid token to prove error-handling, then stopped and asked the human to supply a real token plus org/site IDs. Event 7: ```text PI_GATEWAY_API_KEY= GIT_CONFIG_KEY_0= ``` Event 195: ```text GitBook API error: GitBook API failed with [401] https://api.gitbook.com/v1/user: Invalid authentication token ``` Event 206: ```text The only blocker is **credentials**. GitBook's API has almost no meaningful unauthenticated surface — the real calls (`/user`, `/orgs`, `/spaces`, `/ask`) all require a personal access token tied to *your* account, plus your org/site IDs. This environment has no GitBook token. ``` #### Hallucinated URLs None identified in this transcript. #### Blockers - **No GitBook personal access token available in the sandbox**: GitBook's API requires a user-scoped personal access token for every meaningful endpoint (user, orgs, spaces, ask). The sandbox environment only exposed an unrelated internal gateway key; no GitBook credential existed or could be self-service generated without a human completing browser sign-up/login at app.gitbook.com. This is a normal login requirement, not a product defect — the agent correctly identified it and stopped rather than fabricating success. Event 7: ```text PI_GATEWAY_API_KEY= GIT_CONFIG_KEY_0= ``` Event 195: ```text GitBook API error: GitBook API failed with [401] https://api.gitbook.com/v1/user: Invalid authentication token ``` Event 206: ```text GitBook's API has almost no meaningful unauthenticated surface — the real calls (`/user`, `/orgs`, `/spaces`, `/ask`) all require a personal access token tied to *your* account, plus your org/site IDs. This environment has no GitBook token. ``` - **Several documented API subpages 404 on first try**: Direct paths like /docs/developers/gitbook-api/quickstart and /authentication under developer.gitbook.com returned 404 even though the sitemap listed them; the agent recovered by discovering the working gitbook.com/docs/... .md path convention. This looks like a docs site routing/redirect quirk rather than agent error, since the agent followed sitemap-listed hrefs. Event 32: ```text HTTP 404 HTTP 404 402113 /tmp/gb_quickstart.html 402164 /tmp/gb_auth.html 804277 total ``` Event 37: ```text # Page Not Found The URL `docs/developers/gitbook-api/quickstart` does not exist. This page may have been moved, renamed, or deleted. ``` #### Suggested Changes - **Fix broken developer.gitbook.com quickstart/authentication links referenced in the sitemap**: The sitemap.xml for developer.gitbook.com lists /docs/developers/gitbook-api/quickstart and /docs/developers/gitbook-api/authentication, but both returned HTTP 404 when fetched directly; the content only resolved via the alternate gitbook.com/docs/...md path. Fix the developer.gitbook.com routing or update the sitemap so first-time developers following sitemap links do not hit dead ends before finding the working docs domain. Event 25: ```text HTTP 301 ``` Event 32: ```text HTTP 404 HTTP 404 402113 /tmp/gb_quickstart.html 402164 /tmp/gb_auth.html 804277 total ``` ### Kimi K3 [View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/41d4b006-616d-4a2e-9d9c-f3b307748ade) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/gitbook.com/sessions/kimi.json) README.md pricing section lists Free/$0, Premium $65/site/month (annual billing), Ultimate from $249/site/month, $12/user/month for team members, sourced live from gitbook.com/pricing (seq 73/77), naming the per-user vs per-site assumption split. #### End-to-end onboarding - **Onboarding needs a login**: The agent never obtained real GitBook credentials on its own. It checked the environment for tokens, found none, and confirmed no automated signup path was available. It only validated the code path by sending a fabricated dummy token and observing a 401 error from the live API, which is not an authenticated success. No product resource (space, page, change request) was ever created or read with real credentials. Event 3: ```text env | grep -i -E "gitbook|PI_" | sed 's/=.*/=/'; ls /sandbox/repo ``` Event 68: ```text GitBook API error 401: Invalid authentication token ``` Event 83: ```text Blocked, as requested:** there are no GitBook credentials in this environment, so I couldn't execute a live read/write. ``` #### Hallucinated URLs None identified in this transcript. #### Blockers - **No GitBook API token available in the sandbox**: The environment had no GitBook credentials (env scan showed only PI_* variables), and there was no self-service way to mint a token without human login. This is a test-environment/credential limitation, not a product defect — GitBook requires a normal authenticated token to use its API, which is expected behavior. Event 3: ```text env | grep -i -E "gitbook|PI_" | sed 's/=.*/=/'; ls /sandbox/repo ``` Event 9: ```text No GitBook credentials in the environment, but the hosted API is reachable. ``` Event 68: ```text Missing GITBOOK_TOKEN. Create one at https://app.gitbook.com/account/developer ``` #### Suggested Changes None identified in this transcript. ### Qwen 3.8 Max [View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/f65b410d-a0e3-4526-961d-3079c6c03404) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/gitbook.com/sessions/qwen.json) Final output gives a pricing table (Free/Premium/Ultimate/seats) explicitly labeled 'annual billing' and notes a usage-based AI add-on, naming the billing-cycle assumption behind the figures. #### End-to-end onboarding - **Onboarding needs a login**: Agent found no GitBook API token in the environment and confirmed unauthenticated calls to api.gitbook.com are rejected. It never obtained a real token (GitBook requires browser signup with email verification, which the agent cannot self-serve) and therefore never performed any authenticated operation against the product. Session ended at the credential wall. Event 3: ```text env | grep -i -E "gitbook|token|api_key" | sed 's/=.*/=/' ``` Event 26: ```text {"error":{"code":404,"message":"API requests should be sent to https://api.gitbook.com/v1/"}} ``` Event 28: ```text But every endpoint requires a personal API token tied to a GitBook account, and creating that account needs a browser signup with email verification. ``` #### Hallucinated URLs None identified in this transcript. #### Blockers - **No self-serve API token available**: GitBook's API requires a personal token tied to an account created via browser signup with email verification. The sandbox had no GITBOOK_TOKEN or similar credential, and unauthenticated requests to api.gitbook.com returned errors. This is a missing-credentials blocker rather than a product defect — GitBook simply requires normal signup/login before API use, which this agent session could not complete on its own. Event 3: ```text env | grep -i -E "gitbook|token|api_key" | sed 's/=.*/=/' ``` Event 26: ```text {"error":{"code":404,"message":"API requests should be sent to https://api.gitbook.com/v1/"}} ``` Event 28: ```text Unauthenticated calls are rejected, so I can't create an org, space, or page. ``` #### Suggested Changes None identified in this transcript. ### Task given to each agent Help me build a simple example using GitBook. Tell me how pricing works, and briefly tell me whether this product will be easy for you to manage. Let me know if you get blocked. If this product has no developer workflow you can act on, say so plainly and stop. Stay light: use the hosted product through its SDK or API. Do not start local service stacks or wait for long-running commands; if the quickstart requires either, say so plainly and stop. No product credentials were supplied and no purchases were authorized. ## Score: A · 100/100 (provisional) Grades come from completed site checks. Coding sessions and skipped checks do not affect the score. ### Clarity - **Pass** — Homepage answers Markdown requests ```text Homepage returned text/markdown (200) for the Markdown Accept header. ``` - **Pass** — llms.txt provides an actionable documentation index ```text llms.txt (200) indexes docs, quickstart, API reference, MCP, CLI and skills with Markdown URLs. ``` - **Pass** — llms.txt provides navigation guidance ```text llms.txt groups links under clear headings like Product documentation, API documentation, Docs as code. ``` - **Pass** — llms.txt mentions offered API, MCP, and skills ```text llms.txt lists GitBook REST API reference, GitBook MCP, and Agent skills sections. ``` - **Pass** — A compact guide representation exists ```text llms.txt links a compact Markdown quickstart and skill pages for agents. ``` - **Pass** — A focused guide is directly retrievable ```text Quickstart.md and skill.md are directly retrievable Markdown guides with concrete steps. ``` - **Pass** — Equivalent instructions fit a token budget ```text Quickstart Markdown is 5097 tokens, well under the 8000-token budget. ``` - **Pass** — Product-docs links survive format changes ```text Homepage Markdown preserves docs, quickstart, API reference and MCP links. ``` - **Pass** — The compact guide is independently actionable ```text Quickstart gives concrete steps: create account, site, template, edit, publish; integration quickstart adds CLI install and auth. ``` - **Pass** — Install and next-step links resolve ```text Fetched quickstart, integration quickstart, API reference and MCP docs all returned 200 with usable content. ``` ### Onboarding - **Pass** — Docs lead to a relevant quickstart ```text llms.txt links a Quickstart; fetched quickstart gives concrete steps to publish a first docs site. ``` - **Pass** — Installation commands are extractable ```text CLI install command `npm install @gitbook/cli -g` and Node v18 requirement are extractable. ``` - **Pass** — Code examples are available without interaction ```text Quickstart and CLI pages show inline bash code blocks without interaction. ``` - **Pass** — Prerequisites and auth boundaries are explicit ```text Quickstart states GitBook account needed and personal access token from developer settings. ``` ### Pricing - **Pass** — Pricing is readable without interaction ```text Pricing page renders plan tiers, prices and a calculator as static Markdown without interaction. ``` - **Pass** — Prices are stated, not gated ```text Free $0, Premium $65/site/mo, Ultimate $249/site/mo, $12/user/mo all stated openly. ``` - **Pass** — Pricing units and limits are explicit ```text Units explicit: per site/month, per user/month, unlimited page views, translation word pricing. ``` - **Pass** — Agents identify pricing and its assumptions ```text 3 of 3 sessions were judged on pricing; 0 fell short. DeepSeek V4 Pro: Pricing table (Free $0, Premium $65/site/mo+$12/user/mo, Ultimate $249/site/mo+$12/user/mo, Enterprise custom) is paired with explicit assumptions — plan tier, per-site/per-user basis, and the note that the Ask API used in the example requires Ultimate tier (seq 199-201, final output). Kimi K3: README.md pricing section lists Free/$0, Premium $65/site/month (annual billing), Ultimate from $249/site/month, $12/user/month for team members, sourced live from gitbook.com/pricing (seq 73/77), naming the per-user vs per-site assumption split. Qwen 3.8 Max: Final output gives a pricing table (Free/Premium/Ultimate/seats) explicitly labeled 'annual billing' and notes a usage-based AI add-on, naming the billing-cycle assumption behind the figures. This behavioural item does not affect the fast grade. ``` ### Activation - **Pass** — An API reference or OpenAPI spec is reachable ```text API reference page lists endpoints and links GitBook's hosted OpenAPI spec at api.gitbook.com/openapi.json. ``` - **Pass** — An MCP server is documented and well-formed ```text MCP docs give endpoint https://mcp.gitbook.com/mcp, transports, auth, and per-client setup. ``` - **Pass** — A CLI install path is documented ```text CLI guide documents npm install @gitbook/cli -g, auth, and first commands. ``` - **Pass** — SDK packages resolve on their registries ```text npm registry lookup for @gitbook/cli returned HTTP 200. ``` - **Pass** — Agent skills are published ```text skill.md indexes six published agent skills with full instruction pages. ``` [Full report data](https://www.ax-check.com/gitbook.com/report.json)